Band forming and applying apparatus



March 20, 1956 G. w. DERRICK 2,738,747

BAND FORMING AND APPLYING APPARATUS Filed June 17, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1I .30 ullllmilll DEHIII! ll /4 l I 403839 44 7 J6 7 (A 1 I V H U A J 5 6I 6 M 7 //7 ZINVENTOR 47 J2 48 7 /3 /3 /7 6 GEORGEWDERRICK 2O [/0 7March 20, 1956 e. w. DERRICK BAND FORMING AND APPLYING APPARATUS 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1950 INVENTOR GEORGE IV. DERRICK March 20,1956 6. w. DERRICK 2,738,747

BAND FORMING AND APPLYING APPARATUS Filed June 17, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3we INVENTOR.

NJ GEORGE W DERRICK United States Patent BAND FORMING AND APPLYINGAPPARATUS George W. Derrick, Elbridge, N. Y.

Application June 17, 1950, Serial No. 168,785 I a 3 Claims. (Cl.113----1) This invention relates to identification bands or ringsadapted to be applied to the legs of fowl, poultry, or the like, and toan apparatus for forming and applying such bands. i I

On poultry farms and other places it is often desirable and profitablethat a simple and inexpensive identification means be employed todistinguish one fowl from another of the same breed. For instance, it isoften desired to determine the laying quality of each individual fowl;often it is wished to determine certified fowl from those that are notcertified; or it may be desired to keep record of fowl which have passeda blood test from those that have not passed the test. A convenientmeans employed to enable one fowl to be thus distinguished from anotherhas been to attach bands having different numbers or otheridentification markings thereon to the legs of hens, turkeys, ducks, orother fowl. In so far as I am aware, these bands have been manuallyattached to the fowl with the aid of pliers, pincers, or otherband-fastening instruments. This method has proven unsatisfactory due tothe entering in of such human elements as fatigue, carelessness andinaccuracy with the result that many of the bands become unfastened andfall from the legs of the fowl with the consequent loss ofidentification. Further, it is difiicult to apply the bands seriallywith the result that errors are made in identification and diseased fowlmay be confused with healthy specimens.

The main objects of my invention, therefore, are to provide a machinefor attaching identification bands or rings to the legs of poultry orthe like, which is rapid, dependable, and easy in operation, and that iseconomical, durable and simple in construction. I

A further object of the invention is to provide an improvedidentification band means in that it is peculiarly adapted to be used inconjunction with the machine of my invention.

In carrying out the above mentioned objects, I preferably use a metaltape or a long continuous strip of light, thin material having amultiplicity of suitable identification markings spaced longitudinallyof the tape or strip which is preferably formed in a roll or wound on aspool or reel for convenience of handling. I have also provided aband-forming means which includes a die adapted to receive the leg of ahen, turkey, or the like therein; a means for intermittently feeding thetape or strip to the die to form a band about'the leg; a fastening meansfor securing the band in the formed position, and a cut off means forsevering the formed band from the remainder of the tape or strip. Inorder to permit the leg of a fowl to be quickly and easily placed intoand removed from the die, I have provided a sectional die member havingat least one of the sections movable for opening and closing the die.Furthermore, the tape or strip from which the bands are formed ispreferably composed of thin, flexible material which is easily bent.

A still further object of the invention is to effect a I 2,738,747Patented Mar. 20, 1956 closing of the die the strip or tape is movedinto engagement with themovable die section to prevent excessive bendingor buckling of the strip or tape, and to facilitate the initial formingoperation.

These and other objects and advantages pertaining to the detailconstruction of the machine and operation of the parts thereof will'bemore clearly understood from the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan of a machine embodying the various features of myinvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure l. I Figure 3is a vertical section view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4, is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially in theplane of line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken substantially in the plane of line55 of Figure 4, illustrating the coaction of the tape feeding and dieclosing mechanism.

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken substantially in the plane of line66, Figure 4, illustrating the mechanism for fastening the formed band,a portion of the machine being shown in side elevation.

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the closed "die,illustrating the manner of forming the band.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7, illustrating the manner ofcutting the band from the band tape and manner of locking or fasteningthe formed band.-

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a detail section of a band formingstrip.

Figure 10 is a perspective view similar to Figure 9 showing amodification of band forming strip.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the formed band.

The structure disclosed in the drawings comprises a supporting frame 1having a front plate 2, a back plate 3, a channel bar base, 4, to whichthe plates 2 and 3 are secured by screws 5 and a plurality of tie bolts6 and spacing bolts 7. A drive shaft 3 extends transversely of frame 1with its forward portion joined in front plate 2 and the rear endthereof rotatably supported in a sleeve or hub 10 provided on anoperating lever 11 as shown in Figure 4. The forward end of shaft 8extends outwardly beyond front plate 2 and has secured thereto a feeddrum 12 for the band strip as S in Figure 9 or S, Figure 10.

A suitable guard 13 is' secured to plate 2 for maintaining the bandstrip in cooperative relation with the feed drum 12. The above mentionedlever 11 has the inner end thereof bifurcated as shown in Figure 4. Thesleeve or hub 10 is connected with the rearwardly disposed arm 14 oflever 11, while the other arm 15 has secured thereto a die operating cam17 and a cut off and dividing punch operating cam 13, said cams beingloosely mounted on shaft 8 to permit free independent rotation of saidcams and shaft with respect to each other.

Secured to shaft 8 and positioned between the lever arms 14 and 15 is anindexing wheel 20 having a plurality of, in this instance, four lugs orteeth 21 projecting from the periphery thereof in uniformcircumferential spaced rotation. As best seen in Figures 4 and 5, thelever 11 has a pawl 22 mounted for longitudinal sliding movement intoand out of engagement with teeth 21. A spring 23 yieldingly urges pawl22 toward Wheel 20. A shouldered stud 25 screw threaded in pawl 22extends rearwardly therefrom through an elongated slot 26 provided inarrn 14 and has a roller 27 rotatably mounted on the outer end thereof.Roller 27 is adapted to engage a pawlrelease cam 28, as lever 11 isswung forwardly, for moving pawl 22 out of contact with an indexingtooth 21. Cam 28 is loosely mounted on the lever sleeve or hub to permitfree rotation of said sleeve and is fixedly secured to the back plate 3by one or more screws 29. It is ometimes necessary to produce a slightradial adjustment of cam 28 to compensate for wear and produce propersynchronization of the parts affected by the operation thereof. I have,therefore, shown screw 29 as passing through an elongated slot 30provided in cam 28 and screw threaded in the back plate 3 (see Figures 1and 5).

The lever sleeve or hub 10 is journaled to the frame back plate 3 andextends rearwardly beyond said plate into a housing 32 secured to plate3. Also mounted in housing 32 is a coil spring 33 which has one endconnected with the sleeve or hub 10 and its other end connected by astud 34 to the plate 3 adapted to urge the lever 11 counterclockwise toits initial or starting position (see Figures 4 and 5). The rotation oflever 11 produced by spring 33 is limited by the engagement of a bumper35 connected to said lever with an adjacent spacing sleeve 7. Theforward movement of lever 11 may be produced manually through the levertreadle 37 positioned below frame 1 and operatively connected by a cable3b to lever 11. Cable 38 may, as shown in Figures 3 and 5, pass upwardlyfrom treadle 37 through an opening 3'; in base 4 over a sleeve 46rotatably mounted on a spacing sleeve 7 provided in the frame 1intermediate the ends thereof. Cable 39 then passes over an arcuateguide arm 41 connected to lever 11 to extend over the indexing wheel 26,in spaced relation thereto. This machine is adapted to be mounted on anysuitable support such as a bench, table, or tripod (not shown), and thetreadle 37 may be supportably mounted on the support for the machine, tothe floor of the room in which the machine is positioned or in any othersuitable manner whereby the same is maintained in cooperative relationwith the machine. A flat spring stop 43 has one end connected to abracket 44 mounted on a spacing sleeve 7 adjacent the sleeve 40. Theother end of stop 43 contacts the periphery of indexing wheel 20 at therear of the lower most tooth 21 for holding the wheel, and thereforeprevents shaft 8 and feed drum 12 from moving backward when lever If isreturning from its forward to its initial position.

Located adjacent the feed drum 12 in position to receive the band striptherefrom, is a band forming die assembly 46. This die is composed oftwo sections, a substantially L-shaped fixed section 47 secured to theexterior of front plate 7., and a rectangular shaped section 48 which isslidably mounted on the fixed section 47 and is maintained incooperative relation therewith by a guide rail 49, also secured to theframe front plate 2, as shown in Figure 2. Die sections 47 and 43 areprovided with opposed substantially semicircular recesses 47' and 48respectively, which, when the section 48 is moved to the closedposition. form the die cavity 50 adapted to receive a sufficient amountof the band tape or strip therein to form a band of the desired size. Asshown more clearly in Figures 3, 4, and 5, the means for closing andopening the die comprises a rocl: lever 52 rotatably mountedintermediate its ends on a shouldered stud 53 secured to the front plate2. One end of rock lever 52 has a cam follower, which, in this instance,is a roller 54, connected therewith to engage the hereinbefore mentionedcam 17. The opposite end of rock lever 52 is connected by a link 56 toone arm 57 of a bell crank lever 58 rotatably mounted on a shoulderedstud 59 secured to the frame front plate 2. The other arm 69 is slottedas at 61 in which extends a pin 62 connected to the movable die section48 and which projects inwardly from said die section through anelongated slot 63 provided in front plate 2. A spring 64 coiled aboutstud 53, with one end connected to an anchor pin 65 and the other endengaging lever 52, maintains roller 54 in contact with cam 17 and alsoyieldingly urges the die section 48 to the open position, as will bereadily Lmderstood.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 2, 3, and 6, it will beobserved that I have provided a mechanism for securing or locking theband in the formed position and for severing the band from the remainderof the band strip or tape. This mechanism includes a vertically disposeddriver 66 mounted over the die 46 in alignment with the die cavity 50.The driver is supported for vertical reciprocative movement by the frontplate 2 and a housing member 67 secured to said plate. The lower end ofdriver is normally positioned a short distance above the die 46 and isprovided with a curved recess 68 extending from front to the rear sidesthereof and which conforms in contour substantially to that of theperiphery of the identification band. Driver 66 extends above thehousing 67 and has a tappet screw 70 screw threaded therein adapted tobe engaged by one end of rocker arm 71 mounted on a stud 72 secured toan upwardly extending arm 73 of front plate 2. The other end of rockerarm 71 has an offset 74 which projects inwardly into contact with aplunger 75 mounted on the rear face of front plate 2 in a housing 76secured to said plate. Plunger 75 is mounted over cam 18 to bereciprocated vertically, where- 'by motion is transmitted from the camto rocker arm 71 and driver 66. The proper position of driver 66 withrespect to die 46 may be obtained by adjustment of screw 70 which may besecured in the adjusted position by a lock nut 78. A spring 79positioned between washers 8d and 81 on screw 70 and housing 67respectively, maintains the screw in contact with rocker arm 71 andthereby prevents lost motion between said arm and plunger 75, and alsobetween said plunger and the cam 18. Secured to the driver 66 is a shearblade 84 which cooperates with a shear bar 85 secured to section 47 asthe driver moves downwardly to sever the band strip. In order that theleg of a fowl may be readily placed into and removed from die 46 whensaid die is in the open position, I have provided front plate 2 with arecess 87 which extends downwardly from the upper edge of the plate intotransverse alignment with the cavity formed between the adjacent spacedends of the die sections. Also the rear plate 3 is provided with similarrecess 88 (see Figure 5) which aligns with recess 87. An anvil 90 ispositioned in the die cavity 50 beneath the driver 66 to cooperate withsaid driver to lock the ends of the formed band together. Anvil 9G ismaintained in position in the die 46 by an L-shaped arm 91 which extendsrcarwardly from the anvil through recess 37 and then upwardly adjacentthe inner side of plate 2 to which it is secured (see Figure 3), asillustrated more particularly in Figures 7 and 8. The anvil has theupper face 92 curved transversely thereof to conform substantially tothe interior surface of the band B, Figure 11. A clincher stud 93 issecured to the anvil, to extend upwardly therefrom and a clearance hole94 is provided in driver 66 for receiving the stud therein. The clincherstud 93, in this instance, is of conoidal formation and has the basethereof blending with an annular recess 95 provided in the anvilco-axially with said stud.

The band strip S may be of any suitable construction and, as shown inFigure 9, includes a flexible metal tape 99 composed of copper, brass,aluminum or the like, and has a multiplicity of arcuate recesses 100 inthe opposite side edges thereof. The recesses are arranged in pairs withthe recesses of each pair spaced transversely of the tape to form arestricted portion or neck 101 between them. Adjacent pairs of recessesare spaced from each other, longitudinally of the strip, a distancesubstantially equal to the length of the strip required to form anidentification band B. The intermittent feeding of the band strip intothe die cavity 50 is such that upon the completion of each intermittentmovement of the strip, a neck 101 aligns with the shear blade 84 so thatthe strip is severed intermediate the ends of said narrow neck portion.This is not only provides for an easier cutting of the strip, but alsoprovides the ends of the band with retracted corners positioned withinthe boundary of the edges of the band, as indicated at 102, Figure 11.The strip is also provided with apertures 103 and fastening lugs orprojections 104 which protrude from a side face of the strip inalignment with said apertures. The apertures 103 are arranged at one endof the necks 101 in close, spaced relation thereto, while projections104 are similarly positioned at the opposite ends of said necks.Apertures 103 are, as shown in Figure 9, circular holes, while theprojections 104 are of frustoconical formation and of such diameter asto readily enter said apertures. The modified band strip S, illustratedin Figure 10, is constructed like the band strip S of Figure 9, exceptthat the apertures as 106 and projections 107 are of diamond shape topossibly render the entrance of the projections into the apertures to bemore readily accomplished.

It will now be observed by referring to Figures 2 and 4 that the diesections 47 and 48 have a shallow chamber or groove 110 and 111respectively. in their opposed concave surfaces, adapted to receive andguide the hand strip S or S' therein. I have found it advantageous toform the grove 11 with an upwardly extending tangential portion 111' forcontacting and guiding the band strip during its initial entrance intothe die cavity 50. Likewise, the fced drum 12 has an annular peripheralgroove 112 for receiving and guiding the band strip. The drum 12 is alsoprovided with a plurality of, in this instance 4, drive pins 114 adaptedto enter the apertures 103 and a like number of recesses 115 forreceiving the projection 104. The band strip may be carried in anysuitable means as on a reel or spool 117 rotatably mounted on a shoulderstud 118 carried by frame 12.

Operation When forming and applying identification bands to poultry, theleg of a fowl is first passed downwardly through the openings 86 and 88into the die cavity and into a position beneath the anvil 90. The handle11 is then manually moved in a clockwise direction either by use ofhandle 11 or treadle 37, or by both of these instruments. As the handle11 swings from the starting position shown by full lines in Figure 5 tothe position indicated by broken lines, the indexing wheel 20 will berotated in unison with the lever 11 due to engagement of pawl 22 withtooth 21. Cams 17 and 18 will also be rotated by lever 11. Rotation ofcam 17 actuates rock lever 52, bell crank lever 58, and cam section 48to close the die 46, while rotation of the feed drum 12 will draw theband strip from the reel 117 and feed said strip into the die. As diesection 48 approaches the end of its inner movement, the groove portion111' will be engaged by the forward end of the band strip and will guideit downwardly. Continued movement of feed drum 12 causes the band stripto pass around the die cavity and up over the anvil 90 and beneath theincoming portion of the strip until an aperture 103 is positioned overstud 93. A projection 104 will now be in substantial alignment with theaperture 103 as indicated in Figure .7, While the adjacent neck 101 ofthe strip will be beneath the shear blade 84. As lever 11 approaches theposition shown by broken lines in Figure 5 and by full lines in Figure 6the latch 22 will be lifted from contact with the ratchet wheel tooth 21by engagement of roller 27 and cam 28. As lever 11 moves forward fromthe position indicated by full lines in Figure 6 to that indicated bybroken lines, cam 18 actuates plunger 75 and rocker arm 71 to movedrives 66 downwardly against the action of spring 79 until surface 68engages and forces the adjacent underlying portions of the banddownwardly onto anvil 90. During this downward movement of drives 66,the band strip is severed by coaction of shear blade 84 and the shearblock 85, and the ends of the identification band are locked byclinching the lower end of the projection 104 at the inside of the band.As handle 11 is now released, it will be returned to its initial orstarting position by spring 33 or until pawl 22 again passes below thehorizontally disposed tooth 21 as shown in Figure 5. The die 46 will nowbe returned to its normal open position, driver 66 is returned to itsnormal uppermost position, and the banded leg of the fowl may now bequickly and easily removed from the die and out through openings 87 and88.

Although I have shown and particularly described one embodiment of myinvention, I do not wish to be restricted to the specific constructionand relation of the parts thereof, as various changes may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forthin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A band forming machine for handing the leg of a fowl comprising asectional die having a die cavity extending therethrough withsubstantially semicircular recesses, means for opening and closing thedie including a cam actuated rock lever which actuates a bell cranklever by which a movable section of said sectional die is brought intoclosed position, while said rock lever simultaneously turns a feed drumand feeds a banding strip into said die cavity to form a band around theleg of a fowl and means for securing said band around said leg.

2. A band forming machine for banding the leg of a fowl comprising asectional die having a die cavity extending therethrough withsubstantially semicircular recesses, means for opening and closing thedie including a cam actuated rock lever for operating a bell crank leverby which a movable section of said sectional die is brought into closedposition, while said rock lever simultaneously turns a feed drum, andfeeds said banding strip into said die cavity to form a band around theleg of a fowl, and means for securing said band around said legincluding an anvil, and a driver.

3. A band forming machine for handing the leg of a fowl comprising asectional die adapted to receive the leg of a fowl, means forintermittently feeding a flexible banding strip into said die, means forclosing said sectional die whereby a band is formed about said leg,fastening means for securing said band including an anvil and a driver,and strip-cutting means including a shear blade and a shear block forsevering the formed band from the remainder of the strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS338,336 Brand Mar. 23, 1886 1,286,210 Beugler Dec. 3, 1918 1,493,075Hirschhorn May 6, 1924 1,508,570 Norton Sept. 16, 1924 1,656,445Neuhengen Ian. 17, 1928 1,773,856 Peters Aug. 26, 1930 1,836,503 PooleDec. 15, 1931 1,919,999 Borton July 25, 1933 2,024,416 Allison Dec. 17,1935 2,043,919 Bcugtson June 9, 1936 2,254,117 Keller Aug. 26, 19412,391,891 Frankel Jan. 1, 1946 2,483,424 Martines Oct. 4, 1949

